In absorbent garments nonwoven fabrics are commonly used as a core cover to enclose the absorbent core. When used as core cover, the nonwoven fabric should contain the absorbent material that commonly comprises superabsorbent polymer material (SAP) which is typically applied as a powder or as fine particulate material. The core cover should be designed to contain this material in dry state prior to use and also in use when the absorbent material may be contacted with bodily fluids.
In recent years effort has been made to decrease the amount of cellulose fibers, such as fluff pulp, used for the so-called “airfelt” in absorbent cores. Decreasing the amount is desirable for reasons of comfort and appearance due to less bulk in the crotch region. Furthermore, absorbent garments with reduced airfelt content occupy less storage space on the shelf, because they are thinner in the dry state prior to use.
The airfelt in conventional absorbent cores partly helps to immobilize the superabsorbent polymer material (SAP) in dry and wet state as the SAP particles are entangled between the airfelt fibers. Therefore, when the content of airfelt is reduced, other SAP-immobilization techniques are be employed. For example in EP 1 447 066 (Busam et al.) the SAP is adhered to a substrate layer by using thermoplastic adhesive.
However, such immobilization techniques often require production processes wherein the nonwoven core covers have to endure relatively high strains compared to processes for producing conventional cores, comprising a comparably high amount of airfelt.
Thus, many absorbent cores that contain a high percentage of SAP still tend to be more likely to show a loss of SAP. Particularly in articles featuring an apertured topsheet, SAP lost from the core may get outside of the article and, when swollen due to the exposure to bodily fluids, stick to the wearers skin (so-called “gel on skin”), which is undesirable.